Systems Languages

C, C++, Go, Rust, and Zig support in Sitting Duck.

Language Nuances

Extraction Quality Summary

Language	Functions	Classes	Calls	Variables	Body Detection	Overall
C	⭐⭐	⭐	⭐⭐	⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐	Basic
C++	⭐⭐⭐	⭐	⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐	Good
Go	⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐	⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐	Very Good
Rust	⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐	⭐⭐	⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐	Very Good
Zig	⭐⭐	⭐⭐	⭐⭐	⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐	Good

Implementation Notes

• C++ Method Calls: Supports both dot notation (obj.method()) and arrow notation (ptr->method()). The signature_type field contains the full call expression.
• Go Package Calls: Package-qualified calls like fmt.Println have empty name but full path in signature_type.
• Rust Trait Signatures: Trait method signatures (without bodies) are marked with IS_DECLARATION_ONLY via function_signature_item.
• Return Type Extraction: Go and Rust provide excellent return type extraction including complex types (*big.Int, Result<T, E>).

Known Limitations

• C++ Templates: Template declarations are parsed but template parameter extraction is limited.
• C++ Classes: Class extraction is basic (⭐) - inheritance and virtual methods need more work.
• C Macros: Preprocessor macros (#define) are captured but macro expansion is not performed.
• Zig Comptime: Comptime blocks are parsed but compile-time evaluation semantics are not captured.

Body Detection

All systems languages have excellent body detection (⭐⭐⭐): - C/C++: compound_statement bodies - Go: block bodies - Rust: block bodies, function_signature_item for trait method signatures - Zig: block bodies

---

C

Extensions: .c, .h Identifier: 'c'

Common Node Types

Type	Semantic Type	Description
function_definition	DEFINITION_FUNCTION	Functions
declaration	DEFINITION_VARIABLE	Declarations
struct_specifier	DEFINITION_CLASS	Structs
enum_specifier	DEFINITION_CLASS	Enums
preproc_include	EXTERNAL_IMPORT	Includes
preproc_def	METADATA_DIRECTIVE	Defines

Examples

-- Find all functions
SELECT name, start_line
FROM read_ast('**/*.c')
WHERE type = 'function_definition';

-- Find struct definitions
SELECT name, peek
FROM read_ast('**/*.h')
WHERE type = 'struct_specifier';

-- Find includes
SELECT peek
FROM read_ast('main.c')
WHERE type = 'preproc_include';

---

C++

Extensions: .cpp, .hpp, .cc, .cxx, .h Identifier: 'cpp'

Common Node Types

Type	Semantic Type	Description
function_definition	DEFINITION_FUNCTION	Functions
class_specifier	DEFINITION_CLASS	Classes
namespace_definition	DEFINITION_MODULE	Namespaces
template_declaration	TYPE_GENERIC	Templates

Examples

-- Find classes
SELECT name, start_line, descendant_count as complexity
FROM read_ast('**/*.cpp')
WHERE type = 'class_specifier';

-- Find templates
SELECT peek
FROM read_ast('**/*.hpp')
WHERE type = 'template_declaration';

-- Find namespaces
SELECT name
FROM read_ast('**/*.cpp')
WHERE type = 'namespace_definition';

---

Go

Extensions: .go Identifier: 'go'

Common Node Types

Type	Semantic Type	Description
function_declaration	DEFINITION_FUNCTION	Functions
method_declaration	DEFINITION_FUNCTION	Methods
type_declaration	DEFINITION_CLASS	Type defs
struct_type	DEFINITION_CLASS	Structs
interface_type	DEFINITION_CLASS	Interfaces
import_declaration	EXTERNAL_IMPORT	Imports

Examples

-- Find exported functions (uppercase)
SELECT name, file_path
FROM read_ast('**/*.go')
WHERE type = 'function_declaration'
  AND name ~ '^[A-Z]';

-- Find interfaces
SELECT name, peek
FROM read_ast('**/*.go')
WHERE type = 'interface_type';

-- Find method receivers
SELECT name, signature_type, parameters
FROM read_ast('**/*.go', context := 'native')
WHERE type = 'method_declaration';

---

Rust

Extensions: .rs Identifier: 'rust'

Common Node Types

Type	Semantic Type	Description
function_item	DEFINITION_FUNCTION	Functions
impl_item	DEFINITION_CLASS	Implementations
struct_item	DEFINITION_CLASS	Structs
enum_item	DEFINITION_CLASS	Enums
trait_item	DEFINITION_CLASS	Traits
use_declaration	EXTERNAL_IMPORT	Use statements

Examples

-- Find public functions
SELECT name, start_line
FROM read_ast('**/*.rs')
WHERE type = 'function_item'
  AND peek LIKE 'pub %';

-- Find traits
SELECT name
FROM read_ast('**/*.rs')
WHERE type = 'trait_item';

-- Find impl blocks
SELECT peek
FROM read_ast('src/**/*.rs')
WHERE type = 'impl_item';

---

Zig

Extensions: .zig Identifier: 'zig'

Common Node Types

Type	Semantic Type	Description
fn_decl	DEFINITION_FUNCTION	Functions
var_decl	DEFINITION_VARIABLE	Variables
struct_declaration	DEFINITION_CLASS	Structs
enum_declaration	DEFINITION_CLASS	Enums

Examples

-- Find functions
SELECT name, start_line
FROM read_ast('**/*.zig')
WHERE type = 'fn_decl';

-- Find structs
SELECT name, peek
FROM read_ast('**/*.zig')
WHERE type = 'struct_declaration';

-- Find comptime blocks
SELECT peek
FROM read_ast('**/*.zig')
WHERE peek LIKE '%comptime%';

Cross-Systems Analysis

-- Compare systems language usage
SELECT
    language,
    COUNT(CASE WHEN semantic_type = 'DEFINITION_FUNCTION' THEN 1 END) as functions,
    COUNT(CASE WHEN semantic_type = 'DEFINITION_CLASS' THEN 1 END) as types,
    COUNT(*) as total_nodes
FROM read_ast(['**/*.c', '**/*.cpp', '**/*.go', '**/*.rs', '**/*.zig'], ignore_errors := true)
GROUP BY language
ORDER BY total_nodes DESC;